Gossip Column: Galfond Defeats ‘ActionFreak’ to Win 2nd Challenge; Perkins Stirs Controversy With ‘Ghosting’ Allegations (Updated)

The verdict is out! Run It Once (RIO) Poker founder Phil Galfond has won his second Heads-Up PLO Challenge, defeating Ioannis ‘ActionFreak’ Kontonatsios! ‘ActionFreak’ dealt severe blows to Galfond towards the end, but the PLO legend held on to his lead to eventually win the challenge with a profit of €114,803. Along with these winnings, Galfond pocketed an additional €150,000 from the even-money side bet.

There was a twitter storm raised by the billionaire poker player and hedge fund manager Bill Perkins, who came out making damning allegations of being cheated in a private online poker game on May 24. Indicating that the “cheating scandal” was so significant that it would make the highly publicized Postle scandal look like a church service. He went on to allege that a very prominent (Top 7) player had ghosted an account. Perkins made these accusations in a vague tweet without spelling out the names of the perpetrators. While the poker community was still debating the allegations, Instagram sensation Dan Bilzerian jumped into the controversy by claiming that he, along with Perkins and a few others, had been cheated by someone called Sina Taleb, who had used Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates to ghost for him!

UPDATE (May 28): While Cates had initially denied the allegations, it has since come to light that Bilzerian was indeed right. A day after refuting the claims, Cates shocked the poker community by tweeting a detailed confession. He attached a document with his tweet yesterday, where along with a long confessional, he explains the reasons for his action. The document also included an apology to Perkins. Jungleman might have cleared his side of the story, but only to land himself in the crosshairs of the poker Twitterati!

Phil Galfond Defeats ‘ActionFreak’ to Win 2nd HU Challenge!

Phil Galfond has proved time and again why he’s considered one of the world’s top PLO specialists. After completing the 15,000 hands in the second Galfond Challenge against Ioannis ‘ActionFreak’ Kontonatsios, Galfond came out ahead by €114,803! Along with the winnings, Galfond banked an additional €150,000 in a side-bet.

RIO Poker tweeted the official results.

That's a wrap! @PhilGalfond has secured his second #GalfondChallenge victory by nudging out @crackLiNg1 by roughly €114,803.51 over 15,000 hands. ActionFreak never backed down and made the final session a sweat to the very end. GGs to both players, it was a pleasure to watch! pic.twitter.com/6rWdEMFoHD

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) May 26, 2020

This is the second consecutive challenge that he has won. His first heads-up challenge against the formidable ‘VeniVidi1993,’ went all the way down to the wire. Galfond was a big underdog at one point before he staged a phenomenal turnaround to come out on top.

Galfond has won two mini-challenges between the two challenges as well, against ‘AmSoGood’ and Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates.

But to say that it was a comfortable ride to victory for Galfond in the second challenge would undermine ‘ActionFreak’s remarkable run in the last few sessions. We last reported Galfond leading ‘ActionFreak’ for €450,653.08 after 16 sessions of play, with 3,250 hands left in the challenge.

Another 750 hands were played on Session 17, and ‘ActionFreak’ won €180,000, cutting Galfond’s lead down to €270,698.66.

Galfond hit back in Session 18, winning €135,000 over 840 hands.

Even though Galfond had pulled ahead for €405,698.66, ‘ActionFreak’ most definitely kept him on edge. Swinging the game back in his favor in Session 19, ‘ActionFreak’ booked a six-figure profit worth €168,000 after 820 hands.

RIO Poker tweeted the update.

Tonight, we saw another six-figure swing as @crackLiNg1 booked a €168,000 win. He now trails @PhilGalfond by roughly €240,000 with less than 900 hands remaining. We'll be back tomorrow with what is likely to be the final day! #GalfondChallenge pic.twitter.com/PP3NuWOckp

— Run It Once Poker (@RunItOncePoker) May 25, 2020

That was the penultimate session of the challenge. Galfond entered the final session in the lead for €237,698.66, well aware that this was never a comfortable margin for ‘ActionFreak’! Even Galfond admitted that he’d hoped to close the challenge, but ‘ActionFreak’ wasn’t making it easy for him.

Was hoping to close it out today, but @crackLiNg1 is making it tough!

Will have to bring my A-Game tomorrow. https://t.co/tjOf84ohBm

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) May 25, 2020

Sure enough, ‘ActionFreak’ won the final session as well, profiting €123,000 after 881 hands. Despite the last few winning sessions of ‘ActionFreak’, Galfond came out ahead by €114,803 to win the challenge!

In the aftermath of the fierce battle, Galfond admitted that he was disappointed not to have won the challenge by a more substantial margin, but said that he was happy to win such a tough match.

I’m pretty disappointed that I didn’t finish stronger, but I’m happy to walk away from a very tough match with the win.

Thanks to everyone involved and to all who watched the show!

I’m looking forward to a little bit of rest. https://t.co/yJdXKiHMRb

— Phil Galfond (@PhilGalfond) May 26, 2020

So are we next going to see the RIO Poker founder play Cates in yet another, full-blown PLO Heads-Up Challenge? We sure hope so!

Bill Perkins Makes ‘Ghosting’ Allegations, Bilzerian Hints at Jungleman

On May 24, poker player and hedge fund manager Bill Perkins tweeted a series of serious allegations alleging a poker scandal that would make the Mike Poste scam look like a church service. He went on to assert that he had been cheated in a private online poker game, where a very accomplished poker pro had ‘ghosted’ a friend’s account.

Adding a layer of mystery to the allegations, Perkins refused to name anyone, but that didn’t stop high stakes pro and Instagram sensation Dan Bilzerian from coming out with his own ‘ghosting’ allegations, and all his fingers pointed towards Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates.

Cates immediately retaliated by refuting the allegations. But that said, the storm seems to have just begun!

UPDATE: Initially buckling down, Cates yesterday rendered a full-blown explanation. In his tweet, Cates apologized to Perkins for ghosting though clarifying that he had played very few hands against Perkins.

Perkins Makes Wild Allegations

It all started on May 24, when Perkins tweeted that he was disappointed in many people who were considered poker heroes.

Cheating scandal in poker going on that would make the Mike Postle scandal look like a church service. Really hard to wrap my head around. I'm very disappointed in many people. Some you would call poker heroes. 1 person/pro showed integrity others failed miserably #POKER

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 24, 2020

While people began speculating who Perkins was hinting at, Perkins ruled out Jason Koon.

I have been permission to say that @JasonKoon was the pro who was tempted and acted in integrity. I've always like Jason and now I love him. So you can stop speculating about him. I'm still in investigative mode and not ready to discuss. As I said hard to wrap my head around. https://t.co/HoUiPDs7BR

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 24, 2020

Settlement w/ 1 participant gave my word I would not Publicly reveal UNLESS they lied during questions
Game: Private
App: download for friends
Cheating: pros playing for fish account (so far)
Participants #: unknown now
Investigation: Ongoing
Evidence: confession/physical https://t.co/HoUiPDs7BR

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 24, 2020

Responding to a comment, Perkins also said that he had actually won in the games in which cheating took place, but it was the integrity that mattered, not the results.

However, Perkins later retracted his statement, where he had compared the cheating scandal to Mike Postle‘s case, saying that he had reacted emotionally.

If people want to say the analogy to Mike Postle is incorrect. I can concede that even if I disagree. No need to reply about how MP is worse. Not my goal to exceed the MP scandal. Emotional reaction cheating w/your friends wife is worse than cheating on a stranger clouded thought

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 24, 2020

Pekins, however, didn’t take it so well when Doug Polk pointed out that he would have received a better reception to his allegations had he listed names instead of protecting the guilty for money.

I think you would have gotten way better reception if

1) you didnt over promise

2) you had listed names instead of stringing people along

3) you didn't protect the guilty for $

4) you realized this kind of stuff happens on apps all the time

(from the info we have so far)

— Doug Polk (@DougPolkVids) May 24, 2020

Don't really care about reception. Not running for office But its still going on and poeple need to confess and can't fuck that up cause people want to know shit now. I didn't protect the guilty for CASH wtf aren you TALKING ABOUT!!!! JFC dude get a cluec

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 24, 2020

Unlike Polk, Valentin Vornicu had a different take on the controversy.

This is one of the worst poker scandal I’ve heard of. No names. Crimes aren’t something people don’t do like DAILY basis (ghosting). I bought all the popcorn ? at the store for nothing.

You promised Deadpool and we got Green Lantern ??‍♂️

— Valentin Vornicu Ⓥ (@mblasterx) May 24, 2020

When asked why he wasn’t naming the person, Perkins kept beating around the bush.

Hi @bp22,

Can you give us the Coles notes about why this person isn't being outed?

It's hard to make it through all the tweets to understand why, if you have proof, that he/she is being protected.

— Adam Schwartz (@ASchwartzPoker) May 25, 2020

Top 7 pro in the world for sure and now completely obliterated my trust AFTER the confession. I'll never play a game or tournament with him until this is rectified.

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 25, 2020

Enter Dan Bilzerian!

What began as a shocking outburst by Perkins soon snowballed into more significant proportions, with Dan Bilzerian making his own set of claims.

Bilzerian, who has more than 31.3 million followers on Instagram, charged that someone called Sina Taleb had cheated him, Perkins, and others on the Fun Ocean poker app by having Cates play on his account.

Bilzerian later removed the tweet but not before it racked up Cates’ feathers. Replying to his allegation, Cates responded by saying that he hadn’t played a hand of poker with Bilzerian ever, pointing out that there was rampant ghosting on the site mentioned.

I can't discuss this right now for legal reasons but this is misleading, I haven't played a hand of poker with @DanBilzerian ever lol. More to come when appropriate but there was rampant ghosted on the site that people have admitted to.

— Daniel Cates 🇺🇸 🌎 (@junglemandan) May 25, 2020

Now, Cates is not someone who enjoys a very sound reputation in the poker industry. Back in 2011, he was named in a cheating scandal that involved José “Girah” Macedo and Haseeb “Dogishead” Qureshi. The fact was pointed out by Vanessa Selbst, who reacted to Bilzerian’s charges against Cates.

Wait I’m only catching up to poker twitter now. So the big news is that jungle man did something considerably less shady than he did 10 years ago and which no one seems to remember or care about anyway?

— Vanessa Selbst (@VanessaSelbst) May 25, 2020

NEW UPDATE: Cates Confesses

In his apology and confessional posted on Twitter last night, Cates admitted to ghosting for someone called Sina but pointed out that none of these sessions involved Bilzerian.

“To be clear, I started playing with Sina (his last name is not Taleb, for the record) on May 8th and ultimately played very few sessions, none of which were against Dan Bilzerian as claimed.”

He apologized to Perkins. “I played very few hands against Bill Perkins, who sat in a game I understood was rampant with professionals who were ghosting. I thought since many on the site were using pros to play for them (which was clear by the uniquely high level of play) at the time it felt acceptable for me to be playing. Unfortunately Bill got caught in the crossfire and I’m very sorry for that.”

Cates accepted his mistake and added that he would refrain from such actions in the future. “While I don’t think it’s fair that I’ve been singled out for something many were much more guilty of, I accept that as a role model for the poker community my punishment should be disproportionate compared to a normal player. I hold myself to a high standard of ethics and aspire to be devoid of inequity, but I still make mistakes and am sorry for my actions. I will do my best to behave better in the future.”

Nick Schulman was one of the staunch supporters of Cates in this controversy. As Cates put it, “I’d also like to give gratitude to my friends and the people that supported me on the internet and other communications. Your efforts were vital to mitigating this situation and I appreciate your concern for me. Special thanks to Nick Schulman who contacted me to make sure I was ok and started the #Freejungle movement. If anyone else believes in my integrity and that I should not be lambasted over the internet, I would appreciate any support and will appreciate it especially if I know you.”

Reacting to Cates’ tweet, Perkins replied that he was happy that Cates has come out with an admission.

Welp, I get to keep my word and part of the story is out. This was the right thing to do IMHO. https://t.co/QkcFf2Z2Pj

— Bill Perkins (Guy) (@bp22) May 27, 2020

Others like Shaun Deeb and Grant Hinkle didn’t agree with Cates’ reasoning.

Other doing it is no excuse for you also doing it. Clearly if you wanted to play the game some of the recs were not being ghosted you choose equity and hourly over morality and ethics. If the bar is others doing it it’s a slippery slope of constant cheating.

— shaun deeb (@shaundeeb) May 27, 2020

This is not an apology. Shady behavior by top players in the industry is not a good sign for poker long term.

Surprised at the open support of @junglemandan's unethical behavior by others.

— Grant Hinkle (@GrantHinkle) May 27, 2020

A few Twitter users shot back at Schulman for defending Cates. Schulman responded by saying it wasn’t such a bad case of cheating, and it was hypocritic to call out Cates for a practice that many pros have indulged in.

Why are you defending him nick??!?! What’s your viewpoint of defending cheating?

— M (@Michael38207841) May 27, 2020

Because I just think this whole thing is funny. If we are talking about colluding, card marking, excessive swapping, fugazi shuffle masters and so on it is a very different story. But this? Lotta hypocrisy going on calling the jungle out and they know it https://t.co/XDnNBifL15

— Nick Schulman (@NickSchulman) May 27, 2020

Keep following the latest developments in this story on PokerGuru!